Question: Why has Edwards Road been closed between Wade Hampton Boulevard and East Lee Road for the past three months? I thought they were replacing a small bridge, but there does not appear to be any work going on other than there is a track-hoe parked on the bridge. The road closure is causing a lot of inconvenience to a large number or drivers while apparently not accomplishing anything.

Answer: It can be frustrating when our routes are forced to change due to road work, but it's also necessary to deal with detours if we want to have safe roads.

This reader is partially correct. The Edwards Road bridge between Wade Hampton and East Lee has been blocked for months. Detours around the bridge began in mid-October.

The project is listed as a bridge replacement by the South Carolina Department of Transportation. The bridge goes over a tributary that runs to the Enoree River in Greenville County.

Where this reader misses the mark is in the claim that no work is being done. In my experience in researching and writing about road construction projects, I've learned there are important behind-the-scenes steps that those of us who don't work in the road construction business might miss while we're anxiously awaiting the day we can stop detouring around our normal routes.

This site is no exception. The bridge being replaced was a load-restricting bridge, according to Ben Olson, a resident construction engineer with DOT. Despite its small size, Olson said there was a substantial amount of utility relocation to complete before beginning the actual bridge replacement.

This included relocation work by ReWa, Taylors Fire and Sewer, Duke Energy, Charter and Greenville Water. In the time since the road was closed in October, four of those five groups have finished their utility relocation. Greenville Water's relocation work is the last of the bunch. Olson said Greenville Water's portion of the project should be done by Jan. 9.

In the meantime, the bridge contractor, HRI, Inc. has already set up equipment to begin work as soon as Greenville Water is finished.

Do you have a question you want answered? Send it to elafleur@greenvillenews.com, contact Elizabeth on her Facebook page at facebook.com/ElizabethSLaFleur or send questions via mail to Elizabeth LaFleur, 32 E. Broad St., Greenville, SC 29601. Answers will appear in the Tuesday and Friday print editions of The Greenville News.